


The Intern

by Gyoro_and_Ururun



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Body Swap, F/M, Humour, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-29
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 11:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1385323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gyoro_and_Ururun/pseuds/Gyoro_and_Ururun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki had two choices; spend eternity in prison or return to Midgard for an indefinite amount of time, to live out a most humiliating punishment: become the servant of a mortal. </p>
<p>This was going to be fun, thought Loki.</p>
<p>Not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Crime and Punishment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MistressofLoki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressofLoki/gifts).



> So this was a wonderful prompt given to me by my friend, MistressofLoki, and the exact prompt will be revealed at a later date, for reasons. The third chapter will likely be the one to reveal it. 
> 
> I realise this may start a little similar to my Written in the Scars fic, with the punishment of being sent to Midgard as well, but I assure you this will likely be a bit more slapstick, I would think.

Once Thor and Loki arrived on Asgard, the guards quickly came and proceeded to chain Loki up a lot more efficiently than the mortals had done, and taken off his metal gag. After all, he would need to speak in court. He was taken slowly through the city, civilians looking on at him in disgust and suspicion. Loki ignored them, holding his head up high. He did not care for their stares or thoughts; while it was by far worse than what he had before he found out what he was, he didn’t take their opinions into account. Why should he? Loki had no one to please and he did not care to. He was finished with all of these people and those he knew. Pity he could not figure out how to get out of this situation. What would Odin do? Nothing pleasant, he knew. They were in the palace now; it was the slowest walk he had ever made and it was utterly frustrating. Could they not just incapacitate him and drag him there quicker? Oh, but where was the _torture_ in that?

He was finally before the Allfather and Frigga. They sat on their two thrones, one looking quite predictably cold and angry; the other sad and disappointed. He also noticed two lines of people, one situated diagonally on Odin’s side, each person per step as the line flared outwards. The other on Frigga’s side, flaring the opposite way so that it was like a triangle altogether with Odin and Frigga an un-pointed top. Aha, the jury. The council. The picture of a fair trial, but really Loki could not even begin to believe it would be fair. Nothing was ever fair when it came to him; it was one of the reasons he had lost it. He was stopped near the bottom of the stairs and he watched as Thor walked up the stairs to his mother, hugging her in greeting and exchanging words he could not care less about. His gaze was on the man he once called father. However, once Thor moved to the side, Loki looked back at Frigga.

“What, no embrace for me?” He asked spitefully.

“Loki,” Frigga chided, upset and he could see Thor growl.

Once everyone was settled, Odin started to address his wayward son. Loki looked back at Odin.

“Loki, you have caused much chaos and grievance in three of the nine realms. Some have said you deserve death for your crimes, others say that would be too easy. You are our son, even if you have done despicable acts. So you will have the choice out of two punishments. The first being to spend eternity in prison. The second, to be sent down to Midgard under Thor’s careful observation, where you will fix their city that you destroyed, work hard to make amends with the people you have wronged, work closely with the mortals in what they need. And finally, you will work for one mortal who will be chosen through chance as their servant,” Odin explained. “It is our hope that you can learn what it is to feel remorse, compassion and humility. At some point in the future you will assist with the rebuild of our treaty with Jotunheim, as we have for now formed a truce, but nothing particularly strong. What say you?”

Oh, like he had any choice; everyone knew Loki would rather take the second choice than rot in a jail cell and yet, it was a humiliating sentence. Serving some mortal? He was a Prince; he could have been _King_! To serve some mortal…Loki clenched his teeth, keeping his expression as masked as possible, but he could not hide the hatred in his eyes.

“I think you already know my choice,” he spat, all of his comments of a particular sarcastic and snide nature draining out of him. There was no awful humour to be had here; Loki had no jokes. No spiteful jabs. No more. “I will go to Midgard, as you suggest.” _Whether I will adhere to your rules, is another matter. I **will**_ _find a way out of this and you will regret it._

“Release him,” Odin said, though Loki knew this would not be the time he would escape. Oh no. He could feel the magical wards around the palace; it appeared Odin had been ready for his return in more ways than just the jury. Not to mention he could feel invisible bonds reach and clasp around his wrists. The chains were taken off, one by one, until he was free. In a sense. Never truly free. Odin nodded to one of the guards who stepped forward and placed two sleek black cuffs around his wrists, like bracelets except skin tight, just above the point of uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and let out a hiss, the painful statics rolling around his wrists before they died down and became dormant.

“These will keep you in line. That was a mild tester of what will happen if you decide to use your magic or your actions in a negative way,” Odin said. “I may not be able to take away your magic, but there are always other ways.” Hatred boiled through Loki’s veins as he stared up at Odin; he would _kill_ him when he had the chance. He tried not to look at Frigga, but he did. Her expression was tearful. Good. Loki felt no remorse, knowing that what was in these bands were of a particular substance that he was weak to. Only _she_ knew that, so he knew where Odin got the idea from.

It was lucky he had no one left to betray him.

“I hope you are _happy_ ,” Loki hissed towards Frigga. He lifted his wrists, his expression no longer angry, but a horrible calm. “I hope these blast me enough to kill me.”

“Loki!” Thor spat, but he ignored him. Tears dropped from her eyes. It had been his aim, but he was disgusted to feel remorse to those. His face was set in a snarl, but his eyes showed regret and he turned his eyes to the floor.

“You will be sent down with Thor using the Tesseract,” Odin said.

“Odin…can I please have some time with my son before he goes?” Frigga asked, although Loki knew her well enough to know that it wasn’t _really_ a question. There was little Odin could refuse her, which always amused him in the past. Now he was just hollow. Loki didn’t care about it now. Loki wanted to rage, lash out at Odin and maybe even Thor for all of the hurts the two had put him through, but then, maybe he wasn’t in his right mind at present. He missed Odin giving Frigga the okay and suddenly felt the touch of fingers on his upper arms. Loki looked up and saw Frigga there, staring up at him with watery eyes and walked with her into the antechamber, towards a small alcove where she pulled him down into the seat, sitting down next to her feeling uncomfortable. He stared ahead of him, fiddling with the band on his left wrist with his right hand, testing the limits, though not hard enough to cause pain; he knew it would probably activate if he tugged hard enough. Loki sat there in silence, not really sure what to say nor really _wanting_ to say anything. He was angry.

“Loki…I understand you are angry with me; I took no pleasure in what I did, but it was the only way to allow you the chance to redeem yourself while keeping the mortals reassured that you will not cause further harm to them,” Frigga explained.

“I thought, out of everyone, you would be the one to _not_ betray me,” Loki muttered.

“I did not want to see you rot in prison; you know this. I love you, Loki. With all of my heart. So do Odin and Thor, even if it does not seem it,” Frigga said. Loki slowly felt arms wrap around him and allowed her to pull him against her, her cheek on the top of his head. He did nothing. But it didn’t matter to Frigga. “I told you this before, Loki, it does not matter where you came from. You will _always_ be my son, even if you do not return my sentiment.” Her voice was emotional; Loki knew she was close to tears again.

She pulled back and put her hands on his face. Loki could feel the healing energy and knew she was healing his wounds. When Frigga was done, she put her hand on his heart.

“The only wound I cannot heal,” she murmured softly. Loki looked at her then and sighed.

“I doubt very much it is reparable,” Loki said. “It is probably best that I start my punishment now.” He heard Frigga sigh before leading him back into the hall. Loki stood in front of Thor. A guard was given a sealed letter from Odin and walked over to Thor, giving it to him. Thor tucked it into his armour before he took Loki’s shoulders. Odin then used the Tesseract to send them down to Midgard.

This was going to be fun.

Not.


	2. Well, this is interesting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy arrives at work and finds out that things are about to get interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope everyone's having a nice day!
> 
> Thanks to all those who have left kudos and thanks to MistressofLoki, Willowlux and Angela M for your comments. :D 
> 
> Enjoy!

After four days, S.H.I.E.L.D. finally brought Jane and Darcy back to the states, taking them to Stark Tower, which was to become the new Avengers tower. A mixture of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avenger usage. Darcy thought it would probably be pretty interesting having so many egos under one roof. Then it took another day to get things in the tower organised enough to start up work again and here they were, 27th May, ready to get back to work. Darcy was kinda glad, really, because the last week had been crazy, though she knew it was much worse for those in New York. Who knew Thor, the man with the hot bod, had such a murderous brother? She had by now seen all of the footage and boy, it truly wasn’t fair. How could someone so hot be so twisted? And scary. Seriously, if she ever saw him, she would tase him and then get the hell out of there.

She had talked to Jane extensively on the subject of Loki, whether or not it was truly Asgard’s right to punish him when he had done so much damage to them and thus they should have control of what happens to him.

“On the other hand, we would probably just lock him up. Maybe. He’s an alien, so they might not give him the same rights as human prisoners, though…no, they’d have to. I mean, if they want the protection of Thor, great wielder of Myuh Myuh _and_ handsome to boot…wait, no, that’s not important… _great strength_ to boot, then they can’t lay a hand on his brother. No matter how much big brother is disappointed in the little brother. Um. So yeah, probably better the way it is,” Darcy said. Jane chuckled a little.

“He _is_ handsome, isn’t he?” Jane said, uncharacteristically swooning. They both giggled.

“Oh my God, you really have it bad, don’t you?” Darcy asked, sniggering.

“Shut up! I just…I can’t believe it, you know? I’m just a scientist…a _human_. He must have so much choice of Goddesses up there,” Jane said.

“Aww, you’re insecure! I always saw you as a strong and confident woman. But I like it,” Darcy said. “Honestly, I think he’s got it bad for you. But juuuust keep it cool. Dude hasn’t contacted you in a year, though I can totally see why now.”

“Hopefully he’ll come back soon,” Jane said, biting her lip. Darcy hoped so too. Just because he wasn’t really the type of guy she usually went for, didn’t mean he wasn’t good to look at. “Anyway, I’ve got to head down to the lab. I’ll see you later for lunch?”

“Yep, see you later! Look at me, grown up job!” Darcy said, purposefully immature. Jane just shook her head and went her own way.

Darcy knew everything was going to still be hectic and her current duties were to assist in the cleanup operations within the tower, along with keeping people up-to-date with the news, progress and just about everything else going on in the world. It was awesome; honestly, Darcy had gotten through to her second semester of her second year and wondered where the hell she was going to end up. Naturally she had studied Political Science because she adored politics, debates, philosophy, _anything_ like that and yet she realised there wasn’t much out there that she could do with such a degree. Which sucked, big time. So when she got this job offer, she was more than happy to spend a lot of her free time training for this job while she finished her degree. Because there was _no way_ she would have ditched it for this job. Not after all of the money, hard work and time put into it. Nope. As it was, she finished her degree and it was at the same university that Jane’s dad taught at along with Erik, so that was pretty cool. The best part about this job was that she got her own office; complete with a desk, computer (state-of-the-art!) and sofa. She had a _sofa_ in her office. She wasn’t sure what she was allowed to tell her parents yet, but she hoped she got to tell them about the _sofa_. She might just need to have a sit down on it now to calm her excitement down.

Darcy opened the door to her office and stepped inside. She walked over to her desk and sat down, swivelling once before turning the computer on and looking up her tasks for the day. Only, she was unable to view it just yet. She looked at the time and wondered whether it only appeared once her shift actually started. She had about fifteen minutes, which was awesome. So Darcy sat back in her chair and flicked through facebook on her phone. She was interrupted by a knock on the door and she shoved her phone in her pocket.

“Come in,” Darcy said. She soon regretted those words as Director Fury, Thor and… _Loki_ entered the room. He wasn’t wearing the antlers, but he was still recognisable. And rather pissed. “What the _hell_ is he doing here? Are you insane?” The door closed and Fury handed over a sealed letter that looked like it was from the medieval period to her that was addressed to her.

“Unfortunately, we have little choice but to appear insane, as you call it,” Fury started. “Thor returned to Earth the same day that he left with Loki, bringing back a letter addressed to me, which had an explanation of Loki’s exact punishment, along with a letter in here for you,” Fury said. Darcy looked at him with a frown before looking towards Thor and then at Loki, glad at least that Thor was there to handle any situation Loki could suddenly decide to make. Fury handed her the letter and she read it. It spoke of Loki’s punishment, to assist with the rebuild, around the tower (well, that was the meaning she gleaned from it) and…

Darcy’s eyes widened and she looked up at Thor and Fury.

“He’s to be my _servant_? So, like an intern?” Darcy asked. Suddenly Thor’s face broke into an amused smile; the big guy couldn’t stay serious for long, apparently.

“Yes, father did speak of such, though I had no idea who it would be that he would serve,” Thor said. Darcy could hear a small growl from the direction of the couch and saw that Loki was so _not_ amused.

“So I get to boss him around?” Darcy asked, before looking down and reading the rest of the letter. “Within reason, apparently. Care to specify?”

“As long as what you ask causes no harm to anyone, including him, then I do not think there is much limit to it,” Thor smiled.

“Cool…wait, are you sure he’s harmless? I mean…he still has hands, I don’t understand how those wristbands could possibly work,” Darcy said.

“They are made from a very powerful, very ancient material; it is something that Loki is weak to, because of his magic, and I do not fully understand it. I am more of a man of strength than of wit, but I assure you, everyone here is safe from harm,” Thor said. Darcy relaxed and sat back, before looking at the God in question. Loki was staring at the ground, presumably glaring at it. She had to admit, as scary as he was, it was kind of awesome that he would also become her intern.

“Your tasks will be changed accordingly; Loki will be needed for the rebuild of the city. The areas that have suffered have been evacuated, all underground transport has been stopped and only the most necessary services are still in work, so places like Starbucks won’t be open,” Fury said. “A lot of money is going into this rebuild, including the compensation to those who cannot work to feed themselves. Thankfully Thor’s father has given us a generous compensation for it.”

“Wow, yeah, that makes sense. Okay, so it’ll all be on my schedule, yeah?” Darcy asked.

“Yes. Keep up the good work, Agent Lewis,” Fury said. Darcy gave a polite nod, inwardly excited about the new title. Fury left leaving Thor and Loki behind. Darcy jumped up and went over, giving him a hug.

“Jane’s gonna kill me if she finds out you saw me first,” Darcy said. “And you.”

“This was duty, I…hope she understands,” Thor said, a little worried.

“My advice is to somehow bring her chocolates. There are cookies in the kitchen,” Darcy said. “And make her coffee. Lots of milk and three spoonfuls of sugar.”

“Thank you, Lady Darcy,” Thor said. Darcy pulled back and poked him.

“Now, go and get her!” Darcy said with a grin. Thor looked at Loki for a moment.

“Behave, and be nice, brother. If you learn your lesson, you’ll be allowed back into Asgard,” Thor said. His brother ignored him, but Thor turned and smiled at Darcy. “I will be around if you need me.”

“Hey, I don’t need two interns, I’m not _that_ greedy,” Darcy joked, to which Thor laughed and told her she amused him before he left. Darcy slowly shut the door before looking at her intern.

She was suddenly kind of nervous; he couldn’t hurt her without hurting himself first, but he still had words. Fuck that, she was _not_ going to let him get to her. So instead, Darcy walked over to her desk and sat behind it, looking up her schedule for the day. Or, rather, Loki and her schedule. Today would be a long day, but they had a longer break time and it didn’t sound too boring either. Darcy looked up at Loki and decided it was time to talk to him.

“So, uh, I’m Darcy Lewis…I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but I that would be lying and I’ve heard you’re the God of Lies…so you’re probably, like, a walking lie detector or something,” Darcy said. Silence. Utter silence and the guy didn’t even move. _Rude_. Though she supposed if you were a Prince used to better things, it was understandable; you really weren’t going to react well to the idea of serving another person. Maybe she would just have to deal with it. It was not like she was going to start getting close to the guy; no way. He was a murderer. Even if this was a peculiar punishment. Honestly, with all of the mythology she had read, she had expected to hear some gruesome story of how he had been tortured or something. Poison from a snake, stitched lips, and other things she would rather keep to the back of her mind. Far away, far far away.

“Alright, I’m going to teach you how to make coffee so that you can make _me_ coffee. Very important job,” Darcy said, standing up and walking to her door, looking at Loki, who still hadn’t moved. “That includes you, intern. I thought Gods had better hearing than this.”

Loki stood up and walked towards her menacingly, but she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of her fear. Instead, she pulled out her taser and pointed at him.

“I know you can’t hurt me, but I will seriously tase your ass all the way back to Asgard if you keep trying the intimidating bullshit on me,” Darcy said, refusing to allow him any fantasy of intimidating her. Of course, she wasn’t strictly allowed her taser in New York, thank you fucked up state-specific laws, but S.H.I.E.L.D. said she could carry it and she even had a licence to do so, thanks to them. Loki looked down at the weapon pointed at him before he looked at her. Damned green eyes. So, _so_ green. He clenched his teeth and stepped back a little in submission (yeah, she was totally calling it that), so she put it away and turned around, starting to lead him towards the kitchen on that floor.

She went straight to the coffee maker and started to show him how to make coffee using it. Darcy also showed him how to make it without the machine, just in case it broke.

“Unless, of course, you can fix the machine with magic, which would be awesome,” Darcy said.

“I would have to study the mechanisms first,” Loki said.

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem for Mr. Smart guy; I’m not stupid, you know, I know that you’re intelligent. As kind and good as Thor is, you’re obviously the smarter one. He’s just the stronger one,” Darcy said. “Maybe in mind too; good people don’t succumb to evil.” She heard him snarl and looked at him. Boy, he was angry, but she shoved the cup of coffee into his hands. “Try it.”

“I do not take orders from―,” Loki started.

“Oh, you do, you’re now my bitch,” Darcy said, gesturing wildly as she spoke, no-nonsense tone. “I could get you to do the most humiliating things I can think of, like dress in hilariously awful dresses and pink bonnets…and if my imagination fails, there’s always advice I can get from many other people. But I won’t; I’m going to remain professional and not subject you to more than is really necessary. So just try the damned coffee. If you don’t like that, we’ll see if milk and sugar will be more your taste than black.”

The stubborn God stared down at the drink as if it was poisonous, his face in the expression of contempt. It was unbelievable how simply childish and immature he was; it actually didn’t seem to matter what it was, he would just be unpleasant about it. Darcy stared up at him, tapping her foot.

“It’s not poisonous, watch,” Darcy said, taking the cup and blowing on it before sipping it. She didn’t mind it black, though she preferred it sweeter with milk in it. She then offered it back to him. “See?” Loki took the cup reluctantly and sipped it. Then he finished the cup without so much as a wince before putting it on the side.

“It was surprisingly pleasant,” Loki said.

“There we go. Everything is so much better when you just listen to me,” Darcy said, which earned her an eye roll. Definitely an improvement on the scowling. Maybe one day she’d get a smile out of him.

That would be when the world ended in a fiery ball of hell.

“Okay, so go on, try and make me a coffee,” Darcy said. “Please.” She watched him work the machine with practiced ease; it was as if he had used it a million times before. It took a few people she knew a while to figure it out, even though it really wasn’t that difficult. Once it was done, he poured it into a cup and put milk and sugar into it before handing it to her. Darcy took it and gestured for him to follow her back to her office. However, rounding a corner she nearly bumped into…oh my God! Captain America! He was wearing casual clothing, but she still recognised him. However, his expression suddenly became alarmed as he spotted Loki behind her.

“Miss, stand back!” Steve commanded, gently moving her to the side, mindful of the hot drink she had.

“Ah, no, he’s―,” Darcy started, wide-eyed. Had no one told the guy?

“Don’t worry, I won’t let him hurt you,” Steve said, and really, he was a sweet guy, but as much as she didn’t really care about Loki, she didn’t want any more of the tower to be broken. She saw that Loki was still stood there, as calm as anything, watching the Captain become protective. Shit, no one told him.

“He won’t! Stop! Please! Loki’s here on punishment, so fighting him will only complicate the arrangement,” Darcy said. Steve turned his head enough towards her that he didn’t have Loki out of his line of sight.

“Punishment? This doesn’t look to me like any form of punishment,” Steve said. Darcy pulled the letter out of her handbag and gave it to him. He read it, looking up at Loki every so often. He lowered the letter and looked between them with a frown. “This isn’t right. I need to go and see Director Fury, but I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

Darcy sighed and gestured for them both to follow her. She took them to her office and went over to her desk, but wondered where the phone was.

“Jarvis, can you get hold of Director Fury, please?” Darcy asked.

“Certainly, Miss. Lewis,” Jarvis said. Both Loki and Steve looked around the room with a frown. Darcy had to hold in her amusement at that.

“Director Fury has left the building, Miss. Lewis. I can, however, send over Tony to clear this situation up; he is, after all, well aware of this delicate matter,” Jarvis said.

“Please do,” Darcy said. “Erm, Captain Rogers, do you want to take a seat?” Steve looked like he didn’t want to listen to her, but in the end acquiesced and sat down. Loki stood by the window with his arms crossed.

“Luckily I don’t have anything other than ‘show Loki the ropes’ on my schedule right now, so I guess we can just…wait in peace,” Darcy said. Loki shot a look at her.

“Ropes?” Loki asked.

“Oh, like, show you how things get done or how things work,” Darcy said. Loki seemed to relax a little, though he was still a grumpy miser. Darcy just couldn’t believe her life right now; not only did she have a crazy God in her office, but she also had Captain America there too! She wasn’t the rabid fan like others she knew, but he was pretty hot. Her appraisal of Steve was interrupted by the loud entrance of Tony, who was laughing his head off.

“Sorry, Cap, I should have told you but, well, I wanted to see what would happen,” Tony said, with a shrug. “Hey Reindeer Games, hey girl I have yet to piss off, welcome to my tower. Well, one of you is. The other one I kind of can’t refuse.” Darcy walked towards Tony.

“You’re not talking about lil ol’ me, are you?” Darcy joked. Tony shook her hand.

“You don’t seem like the typical S.H.I.E.L.D. lackey, so I’ll forgive you,” he joked. Darcy laughed. Steve walked over to him.

“I don’t really understand all of this; I realise we don’t have much say in the matter, but I don’t like how easy this punishment is,” Steve said.

“Mm, yeah. Maybe. I mean, would you prefer death penalty? Torture?” Tony asked. Steve looked up at him, and Darcy could tell that the good Captain didn’t believe in that kind of stuff. “Do you really think prison is a good option? If they can even hold Houdini over here, what’s the point? Might as well have him clean up his mess and watch as he does Darcy’s bidding. Which, by the way, is hilarious. Darcy, you need to send me a photocopy of that letter so I can frame it.”

Darcy glanced over at Loki and saw that he was scowling at them.

She could tell this was going to be great fun.

And she wasn’t sure whether that thought was serious or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully that was okay. XD I know Angela M wanted to see some disgust, but I will try and work something along the lines in later; after the initial shock/amusement dies down a little and all. We'll see what happens. :D


	3. Even more humiliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki helps clean up his mess and then finds himself in further unpleasant situations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Sorry for the wait, my muse for the story kind of went on holiday without me. 
> 
> The prompt for this story, as I promised you, was: 
> 
> "Loki is sent to Midgard for punishment and, much to his mortification and Thor's amusement, he becomes Darcy's intern."
> 
> ;D
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and thanks to **Shadows_of_Shemai** (definitely! I think Steve is a bit more level-headed, plus, Darcy was at risk. Glad you're enjoying it!), **marshmallowdeviant** (Oh, Loki is definitely pissy in this one. This chapter is like, if he were a cat, his back would be all arched all the time and he'd be hissing), **Lauralina** (glad to hear it!) and **MistressofLoki** (;D) for all of your comments! They make my day!
> 
> Loki is all moody and I am kinda wondering whether my label in the first chapter notes was wrong. Not sure how slapstick it is, but it is maybe that mixed with some crazy/angst/moodiness. XD
> 
> Enjoy!

To say that Loki was extremely annoyed was an understatement. Such servitude was beneath him and here he was, following some mortal around and either sat around bored or doing her bidding. The rest of the previous day after the Captain and Iron Man had had their say had gone relatively quietly, with her working at her computer and him staring into nowhere. He supposed it was better than imprisonment, but in some ways it really wasn’t. It was a lot more humiliating than he had anticipated. Today, he sat in her office on the comfortable couch, presumably waiting for orders. He had already gotten her a coffee and nabbed some biscuits for her. Loki had bared his teeth when she had asked him whether he had spit in her coffee in spite; like he would do something so disgusting. Was this something mortals did to each other? Needless to say, she got the message. What felt like an hour passed, though it was only about nineteen minutes according to the clock, Darcy finally stood up.

“Come on, intern, we’ve got some cleaning to do. Or, rather, _you_ do. I’m not authorised to do so,” Darcy said, starting out of the office. Loki stood up slowly and walked after her with an unamused expression on his face. They passed various agents, some who ignored him and some who were wary. He would have smirked at them had his aggravation not been cancelling out that emotion. He was led out of the tower and into the wreckage, which made him stop. For all of his snark and coldness, it was a shock to the system. Darcy must not have realised he had stopped, because he saw her coming back towards him with a raised eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Only just realised how much damage you did? Take a good look around; this is only one street. Most of Manhatten is so fucked up you can barely tell which street it is. So I hope you’re happy with yourself. ‘Cause yourself is the only one you’ll have,” Darcy said.

The mortal was bold, but he chose to just ignore her and carry on walking. He didn’t know whether he was supposed to fix it by hand or with magic, but he mixed it up. Loki easily righted one of their vehicles and used magic to fix it. The road started levelling out and he removed the holes and debris from it until it was as good as new. This was how his morning went and when it came to about 1pm, his mortal superior took him back into the tower and into a room with various people eating. A large kitchen, it seemed, with a dining room connected. He followed her to a table where some mortal woman was and already he could see the recognition in her eyes.

“Thor had told me about it, but…oh my God, Darcy. Seriously…How are you even stomaching it?” The woman asked.

“Jane, I’m not sure how much choice I had, but he can’t hurt me. And he needs to be punished, so what better way to do so than by something as humiliating as serving someone?” Darcy asked, before cackling. She looked at Loki as if she had forgotten he was there. “Go to the fridge and get me the large box with my name on it please. And get a coffee for me and whatever drink you want.” Loki growled, but did as he was told and put the box in front of her. Then there was some noise in the form of Thor and he was kissing Jane, who must be his mortal lover. He sat down next to Jane and Darcy looked at him. “Sit.” Darcy pointed at the chair next to her that was opposite Thor. While he wasn’t overly interested in sitting with them, it was not like he had a choice. So he sat. Darcy started unloading food from the box, some for herself and a lot for him before putting the box on the floor.

“What is this?” Loki asked.

“Your lunch; I didn’t think you’d have one, so I brought one for you too,” Darcy said. “Since you’re being kept in a room with close observation and all. I know Thor has a huge appetite so I packed more for you.”

“I see,” Loki said, examining his lunch.

“Oh, thank you Darcy, that was very kind of you; you’re such a good person, I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re welcome,” Darcy said. Loki had no idea what just happened.

“I thought you were Darcy?” Loki asked.

“That was me being sarcastic, dumbass. You’re not a very grateful person, are you? I should have put bleach in your food,” Darcy muttered. He just raised an eyebrow at her and she started to ignore him after that. He didn’t know what bleach was and instead, just started eating the food. He started off with the sandwiches, and then ate some sort of noodle concoction with vegetables and meat, going onto some bag of crispy things and finishing off with some sweet pastries. He was barely listening to the conversation that the two girls and Thor were having, but he started listening when he heard Darcy talking about his work out on the streets.

“Yeah, so he’s doing his job,” Darcy said. “Surprisingly without much fuss.” He saw that Jane’s expression seemed awkward, like she couldn’t believe Darcy was talking about it in front of him. Loki didn’t particularly care for her words either way. Once lunch was over, he was taken back out into the streets and spent the rest of the afternoon fixing up his mess.

It was about four in the afternoon when there was a big commotion and people scrabbling to pick up some debris. Loki went over and pulled it all out with ease and a few children, two boys and a girl, were huddled in the hole, covered in dirt and not looking too good. They were, however, still alive.

“Shit,” Darcy swore, helping the other agents get the children out. “We need to get them to a hospital quick! How the hell are they still alive?!” Loki took two of the children.

“Take hold of me,” Loki said, not even thinking about it as she reluctantly followed his instruction before he transported them to the healing building they had, taking them straight into the structure before the children were taken off of their hands. Loki stood there and watched them rush off, unable to believe how long they had lasted. Although he hadn’t been to Midgard in a long time before his invasion, he knew well enough about their biology.

“They’ve been there for, like, eight days or something…” Darcy said, shocked. She looked up at him. “We need to go back.” Loki nodded numbly and whisked them away, returning to where they had found the children. It turned out that the children had some bottles of drink in there and they must have tried to drink it sparingly to stay alive long enough. But even with that, it was just a miracle of nature. Loki carried on with his work, focussing on fixing the city street by street as everyone was.

It took a whole week to clear up Manhatten and it hadn’t been easy; a petrol station had blown up, which would have caused more damage had Loki not used his magic to stop it blowing up any further. When it was all done, Iron Man dropped down in front of them and lifted his mask. It really was fascinating technology.

“Hey, we’re going to get some Italian, wanna come? Jane’s going to be there,” Tony said.

“That sounds awesome. Hey, have you heard from Erik recently?” Darcy asked.

“Oh, he was here helping with the clean up, but he’s leaving the city for a bit. Something about taking a break. Can’t say I blame him; he’s a bit of a mess,” Tony said. Loki noticed both of them look at him before carrying on. “Anyway, you both should come; can’t really leave Loki to his own devices and hey, maybe it’ll be fun.” Tony gave her the address of the restaurant before dropping his face mask and shooting up into the air.

“It is quite alright, I will just go back to my room,” Loki said dryly.

“All the more reason for you to come; sorry, but the whole idea of this punishment is that you don’t get to have fun,” Darcy said.

“I realise that,” Loki muttered.

 

* * *

 

They arrived there in seconds as Darcy seemed to enjoy his ‘apparating’ skills. Whatever that word referred to, he knew it was meant in regards to his ability to transport himself to places instantly. He followed Darcy into the restaurant and instantly he wondered if Stark would regret his invitation.

“What is _he_ doing here?” Clint asked spitefully.

“He’s here to eat food, what do you think he’s here for?” Tony answered unhelpfully and Loki found himself smiling a bit, which didn’t go unnoticed by the metal man. Except, he wasn’t wearing his armour right now.

“Har har,” Clint said.

“You’re a master of emotions, start acting like one of those highly trained agents you’re supposed to be who have no personal attachments blah blah bellyache,” Tony said. Clint grumbled something and Loki found himself tentatively sat between Darcy and Bruce Banner. Unfortunately for him, Stark seemed to notice his discomfort.

“Relax, Reindeer Games, while his turning you into a rag doll was funny, he won’t be doing that again unless you decide to turn nasty again,” Tony said.

“Besides, Bruce Banner is a great man, Loki. I think you would get along if you tried,” Thor beamed. Loki ignored him and picked up a menu. He had no desire to befriend any of his former enemies. This was unbearable enough without having to befriend them too. Befriending them meant he might not be so inclined to get revenge later and he really wanted to get revenge. Losing wasn’t something he took easily and he’d done so _twice_ now. Although, really, he had lost many times. To Thor. He would get his revenge.

“What is everyone having?” Tony asked. A lot of noise and chatter erupted and Loki barely noticed until Darcy was nudging him.

“Anything; I recognise nothing of these foods,” Loki muttered, putting the menu down and sitting back, arms crossed.

“What are you, a petulant child?” Darcy said. “Cheer up; you’ve got it _way_ better than you should. You nearly decimated a city. Just shut up and stop grouching.” How _dare_ this mortal talk this way to him? Just you wait, Darcy Lewis. He may not be able to do much now, but they would see once he could. Unfortunately he had a feeling that, unless he managed to get the damned bracelets off, he would have to pretend to be good in order to get there. And getting there, he needed to remember this anger. Why should he forget it? Why should he allow these people to treat him like―

Loki was interrupted by a sudden _something_ landing on his head. The others around the table started laughing and he pulled it angrily off of his head. From his limited knowledge of Midgardan cuisine, it appeared to be a pizza. The chef came running over and started to apologise, but Loki stared up at him and he became a stuttering mess. That was satisfying. At least _something_ was going right. Loki took his, albeit petty, revenge by throwing the pizza to the ground.

“It better not happen again,” Loki said. It appeared that through the mortal media sources, his face was apparently all over it. He was not near the mortals enough during the attack to receive such recognition. The chef retrieved the pizza and scuttled back to the open-kitchen thing they had going on here. Loki turned back and ignored the stares he was getting.

“Loki, that was not nice,” Thor said.

“Oh? Neither was that time you shouted at the maid for dropping your food all over the floor,” Loki said. “Of course, you being the privileged one, you get away with such atrocities.”

“Loki―” Thor started, but Loki stood up.

“I do not care to stay in company I do not wish to keep, nor wishes for my presence,” Loki said, turning around to start walking off only for a waitress to bump into him and spill soup over his tunic. He looked down at it before looking up, but he said nothing before storming off towards the door.

“There goes my ride,” was the last thing he heard before leaving the establishment and disappearing in one quick motion. Of course, that was all the mortal woman cared for. He wasn’t sure who was on his list of people to curse, but she was also on it. The very fact that he was subjected to servitude to this woman, who didn’t seem to have any important role in their agency, was utterly aggravating. He was back in his room, which was dull and boring. There was literally nothing for him to do here, so he took himself invisibly to a nearby library and started reading books he randomly took off the shelves. His magic meant this wouldn’t spook the fragile beings that wandered around the library. Anything that was strange, ‘unnatural’, _alien_ and the like were treated with fear and needed to be treated either badly or killed. He had read enough mortal history to know how much violence came from difference in skin colour, religion, sexuality, gender, and whatever else. Asgard did have a few problems, sure, but no way near as violent as Midgard. Of course, his opinion of Asgard had rather decreased in favour now, but he could still see it fairly objectively. While he knew he had gone too far in his recent actions, he did think that perhaps with one, benign, ruler Midgard might be better off. However, he had lost and Loki was not one to try for a repeat attempt. It got boring very quickly.

 

* * *

 

Loki returned to the tower a few hours later and made his way to his room, uncaring of the frantic mania occurring all around him. Mortals were strange and he wanted nothing to do with them. He reached his door and opened it, but he already knew something was off and entered anyway. He would be ready for whatever would come. But first, Loki removed the surveillance devices that had been placed there and destroyed them. Soon agents burst through his door followed by Thor. What in the name of Yggdrasil was going on? Oh. They had no idea where he went, did they? He smirked.

“Loki, where have you been?” Thor asked.

“I did not realise I had to ask permission to go to the library,” Loki said. Thor frowned.

“We checked all of the libraries and you were not there,” Thor said. He grinned.

“Oh, I was, but I was invisible. You must not have checked thoroughly, though, because I did not hear you enter. There is never a time I cannot hear you enter, so you must have missed the library I visited,” Loki said. He wouldn’t tell him that he was in _London_ rather than New York. Thor just frowned, obviously confused.

“From now on, you must stay within mine or Darcy’s company when outside of this room,” Thor said.

“Or what, you will tell Odin?” Loki said snidely.

“No, I will tell mother,” Thor said. “And I already have a plan: if you cannot keep to this, I will ask mother to make it physically impossible for you to be outside of our company or this room alone.”

“Your threats to tell Frigga will not work,” Loki said coldly. Thor looked severely disappointed in him. “But I will stick to your conditions.” _For now._ Thor obviously forgot that he could easily leave a clone in his place while he went off gallivanting. Thor seemed pleased and the agents filtered out of the room. Of course, Thor was going to stay and say his piece.

“Loki, please do not fight me on this; I want to fix the ills that have passed between us. I want us to become brothers again,” Thor said. Loki walked up to him and got quite up in his face.

“Give up on such a dream; it will _never_ come true,” Loki said. He stepped back. “I do not need you nor do I need anyone. Now, if you do not mind, I want you out of here.”

“Loki―” Thor started.

“ _Now_!” Loki hissed. “And if you ever consider placing surveillance equipment in my room again, you will be _very_ sorry. So sorry it will be worth getting electrocuted for.” Thor seemed to grumpily take the hint and finally left him to his own devices. Thor would be the first to go. He was someone who still wanted to care about him and Loki didn’t need that; didn’t need him to take away Loki’s pain, anger, hatred…Loki didn’t want to let that go because it was all he had left. How could he love again? Trust again? He simply couldn’t. It was with these thoughts that he phased out of his clothes and got into his bed, ready to sleep the night away. Only, it was a little more difficult than he had thought and he found himself pacing instead. A common activity for him, staying up either all night or for most of the night. He didn’t exactly need a whole lot of sleep, all the time. However, if he wasn’t careful he would start to drift and the need for sleep would make itself more and more prevalent until he gave way to weakness that he didn’t want anyone else seeing _ever again_. He walked over to his desk and used his magic to take what he needed from one of his many magical pockets in order to make a potion.

A sleeping potion.

He would sleep well tonight.  


	4. Waking up on the wrong side of the bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Loki are sent to investigate along with S.H.I.E.L.D. some strange readings and the findings are both strange and yet a little bit disappointing. 
> 
> Or so Darcy might think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and thank you to **Shadows_of_Shemai** (thanks for pointing that out, I changed it to Italian. xD Who knows? I don't have plans for it at present but I'm never one to stick to my own plans), **TeenWolfy** (:D), **Reneemm** (glad you're enjoying it and I hope this chapter tickles you ;D), **rockneverfalls** (Tada! After my teasing here you are! Hope you enjoy ;D), **scarletwitch0** (he doesn't like showing weakness, and I imagine I'll put more about his nightmares in the future) and **Lauralina** (never thought of it that way, just that he's a criminal and she's not molly-coddling him in this fic as much, but then it also kinda shows in TDW, where she's a bit mean to Ian. xD Probably doesn't mean to be, just, no idea, I wish they'd explore Darcy some more. XD And yes, certainly will bring them in at some point! I do want to try and add in anything I can that readers want to see :3) for all of your comments, they make me happy!
> 
> Been a while since I updated this and I apologise. I do have a lot more ideas for this though, particularly future stories. XD This is gonna be a series fic, and I already know the next two story titles, just not the series title. XD I can't tell you how many chapters this will have, but definitely more than eight because I already know what's happening in that chapter. ;D
> 
> Enjoy!

About a week after Loki had stormed out of the restaurant and caused a stir from being missing, Darcy was suspicious. Nothing had happened since, and that was the problem. Darcy had a bad feeling that it was all too good to be true. She had remained firm and cold towards him, not wanting to get close to him, especially since he was gifted with charm, wit and manipulation skills. Darcy wasn’t dumb enough to think she’d be completely immune, so she would keep her wits about her. She didn’t want to fall into the cliché of falling for him. Yuck.

There had been a few times during the week when she had to visit his room for this reason or that, and he had been there, but the last couple of times it had been strange. So today she made her way down there again, still dressed in her office clothes. She knocked on his door and the door opened by magic as always. She had to admit, if only to herself, that she wouldn’t mind having some of this magic power; life would be so much easier. She walked in to find him reading, as always. Darcy walked over to him and peered over at his book.

“What are you reading?” Darcy asked.

“A book,” Loki replied without looking up.

“Very funny,” Darcy said.

“Thank you, I try my best,” Loki said.

Darcy stared at him for a while, still feeling that something was off. However, there was no physical sign of whatever she was looking for, but she still felt it. She reached out and poked his cheek and his eye turned to look at her. It was kinda creepy.

“Do refrain from poking me; the threat of electrocuting myself will only keep me from lashing out for so long,” Loki said.

“Really? You know, Loki, you’re not fooling me. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is off here. Want to tell me what you’re up to?” Darcy asked.

“Paranoid? It is not very flattering upon your features,” Loki said.

“I’m not paranoid, there’s a difference. There’s something diff―” Darcy started. “You’re not really here, are you? I remember watching that video from Stuttgart; you can create clones…even if this one is corporeal.”

“How can you possibly prove you are right? After all, I am right here,” Loki said.

“I could tell Thor and he’ll be able to tell,” Darcy said.

“He is known for falling for my double trick. He has never failed to fall for it,” Loki replied.

Darcy wasn’t sure how to get him to prove her right. Or was she? Stupid trickster. She wasn’t really sure whether she should continue this line of question. The only way to possibly prove it would be to pull at his bracelets to have them activate and…but no, she wasn’t cruel. Sure, she could be as bitchy as hell to him and treat him coldly, but that was verbally. If she started getting physical with him, it would just bring her down to his level. She let out a sigh and shrugged, standing up.

He was staring at her in an amused manner.

“What?” She asked.

“I know what you were considering…why not? I have caused so much pain, do I not deserve it?” Loki asked.

“One, get the fuck out of my head. Two, if you know that, you’ll know that I don’t want to become you,” Darcy said.

Loki smirked and stood up, stepping close to her and pulling her chin up with a finger. She stepped back from him immediately.

“Hands off,” Darcy said.

“I was just about to say that you are quite astute. Although you cannot physically prove it,” Loki said, and then there was a shimmer, much like the ones that went through the clones in Stuttgart. “You were correct. That was a double.”

It was him now; Darcy didn’t know why, but she could tell it was really him now. There was no niggly feeling. She had always had a bit of a sense for things, but she never thought it would also involve stupid magical psychopaths.

“So you’ve been sneaking out. Where to?” Darcy asked.

“The library, that is all,” Loki said.

“Seriously? Of all the things you could sneak out to do and you go to a _library_? Not that I don’t like them, I do, I love books, but―,” Darcy said.

“Do you always talk this much outside of work?” Loki asked. “You speak far less at work, and you are far more professional.”

“Well, _duh_ , of course I’m going to be more professional, it’s work!” Darcy said.

“However, you are more likable in this state; your professional manner and love of bossing me around are aggravating to the point that I might just have to strangle you at some point,” Loki said.

“Then you will never get anywhere. Those things won’t stop burning you,” Darcy said. “And Thor said there would be worse punishment if you don’t even try to make amends.”

Darcy stiffened as he started circling her, before she felt his hands on her shoulders and his breath on her ear.

“Do you think I fear any pain these bracelets or your pathetic mortals could give me? All for one little mortal such as yourself? You were only sent with Dr. Foster because you were with her, no? After all, you do not do anything of significance yourself,” Loki said in a quiet voice.

“Your scare tactic isn’t going to work on me; I don’t give a shit what you say, because I know you yourself had an inferiority complex. Probably still do. So get over yourself and stop being a dickhead,” Darcy said, turning around swiftly and managing to kick him in the balls. She would have stomped his foot too if she didn’t think she’d break her foot on his stupid boot. As it was, it was satisfying to see that he was like any other man, hunched over in pain and shock. Darcy took it as her cue to leave and got the hell out of there.

 

* * *

 

The next morning was a little nerve-wracking. Generally Darcy didn’t care about what people thought or about people being angry with her, but…if he was serious about being willing to be electrocuted to exact revenge, well, just the very thought was just a little scary. She kept herself professional and got her own coffee today, sipping it as he sauntered into the room and stood to attention.

“What would you like me to do first?” Loki asked.

Darcy looked up and stared at him for a moment, a little surprised he wasn’t angry at her.

“What?” She asked.

He rolled his eyes. “What do you want me to do first, _ma’am_?” Loki asked.

“No…I…nevermind,” Darcy said, taken off-guard.

Then she saw his smirk and she narrowed her eyes. She saw what he was doing; trying to confuse her. Damn him and he had succeeded. Without any other preamble, she finished her coffee and stood up.

“We’re helping the agents investigate something they have found, so I hope you’re ready,” Darcy said.

She didn’t give him time to answer before walking out of the door and down the corridor. The last thing she needed was to listen to him complain. Or worse. She decided to walk and read the notes to keep her mind off of it all. They were in the car in no time and at the site within the hour. An avalanche had occurred, which wasn’t anything new in the world, but it had set off some pretty strange readings and there were already people digging through the dirt.

It took a long time before they found what they were presumably looking for. All sorts of agents were milling about, including ones known as Sitwell and Garrett, and soon after she and Loki had appeared, Tony Stark had arrived. Thor was doing something else, but even then Thor had recommended Loki on the more intellectual side of things.

“We’ve found it!” One of the men who had been carefully digging for the entire morning said.

Darcy rushed forward, gesturing for the quiet Norse God to follow, as a few others came forward. On closer inspection, it was some sort of glowing yellow gem. Absolutely beautiful, but she refused to touch it, not knowing whether it was safe. She had enough experience watching movies to know that you don’t touch the strange object. Loki obviously had no qualms because he went ahead and picked it up with his bare hands. He held it in his hands and didn’t seem to be affected.

“Is it safe?” Darcy asked, wanting to touch it for the sake of it, but thought better of it.

“Nothing is ever truly safe,” Loki said. “However, maybe you would like to be brave and see if mortals can touch it.”

He lowered his hands as if she was much smaller than him and she glared up at him before putting a defiant finger on it. Both cold and hot to the touch, she couldn’t really decide. She took it out of his hand and looked down at it.

“Lewis! What did I tell you about being more cautious?” A familiar, always-happy (note the sarcasm) voice said.

Darcy turned to see a rather angry Fury standing with his hands on, wait for it, his hips. He must be the most predictable person she had ever met. She sighed and folded her arms, standing strong and tall, even if that was pointless next to Mr. Tower of Tamtrums next to her.

“I’m alive, aren’t I? Besides, how are we going to know if we just stand around acting like headless chickens?” Darcy asked. Fury looked like he wanted to add something, to argue, but he had probably given up.

“Just give me the thing and we will take it back for testing. Any idea what it is, Loki?” Fury asked, obviously still begrudgingly working with the God. She couldn’t blame him really. She wasn’t being paid enough for his shit.

“No,” Loki said smoothly.

Darcy looked at him, but said nothing. She had that niggly feeling again, but not because he was shooting out clones and all that crap. No, it was a little different, like another form of deception. Instead she just let Fury sigh and probably wonder why he bothered bringing the nuisance out because he sure as hell wasn’t very useful. It was quite funny to watch, really, because seriously, was this guy married? If not, maybe he just needed some loving.

By the time they returned, work hours were over and she was left alone by Loki. Darcy went straight back to her room and had a relaxed evening of watching her favourite shows and eating.

 

* * *

 

Darcy woke the next morning in a strange smelling bed. She was wrapped in covers that smelt of a familiar…she didn’t know what it smelt like. Who the freakin’ hell smelt like that? Oh, yeah, she remembered. Her goddammed intern. Wait. That meant…

She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing a room that certainly wasn’t hers. Loki’s. She couldn’t remember going to his room and she hadn’t drank alcohol and she didn’t do drugs. Darcy felt a tremor of either anger or fear crackle through her. No, he wouldn’t…he wouldn’t dare. Her hand brushed her hip and suddenly she realised she was naked. She pushed the covers back and looked down at herself.

HOLY SHIT! HOLY MOTHER OF EVERYTHING WRONG IN THE WORLD!

A whole string of curse words ran through her head as she stared, frozen, at what was _definitely_ not there the night before. When she finally gained some ability to do something, she jumped out of the bed and ran to the mirror, ignoring the tell-tale signs that something was wrong. She couldn’t deny it any longer (how the hell could she???) when she saw Loki’s face staring back at her. She reached up her hand and touched her face. _His_ face. Urgh! What the hell? What happened? How did this happen? She kept moving about and turning, poking herself…himself?...but this was real. This was very real and she was very naked. He certainly wasn’t lacking.

Darcy started panicking, looking through the wardrobe and the drawers, but he had nothing in there at all. How the hell did he get―oh, probably magic. Dammit. She started breathing in and out very quickly, knowing Loki didn’t have a phone she could contact him on either. Oh shit, oh shit, was magic in body or spirit? If it is in spirit, then they were in trouble because he _wasn’t restrained in her body_. She clenched her fist before jumping a little in surprise; some sort of green spark of energy crackled around it and that only meant…she had magic. Magic was a bodily function? Oh, she hoped so. Darcy closed her eyes and imagined herself in his armour. She nearly toppled over at the suddenness of the armour and opened her eyes to see she was clothed. Phew. So she could use his magic, that was very good. Very good indeed.

Darcy carried on staring in the mirror, Loki’s usually arrogant/annoyed/cold or otherwise expression a look of shock, mouth open and eyes wide. That or horror. Both were interchangeable. She didn’t know how long it took for her to peel herself away from the mirror and make a decision: find Loki. Or…herself. Oh Jesus. She left the room and found her way to her real room, knocking on the door. She earned a few suspicious stares from passing agents and two even stayed in the corridor. Aw, were they that concerned about her? She never knew!

Darcy must have been waiting for a while, knocking at intervals and even trying to zap at the door subtly to no avail. Nothing. No sparks. How did this magic work? Eventually the door opened and it was like looking into a mirror, except the real image wasn’t her and the mirror image was. Oh, this was freaky. Her body had its usual unflattering bed hair and she looked sleepy.

“Who dares to disturb me?” Loki asked in Darcy’s body. It took a few moments for her to stop freaking out and calm down.

“Erm, you should probably look in a mirror,” Darcy said, pushing herself inside. Oh God.

She closed the door and ignored Loki’s confused mumblings; strange that she had always thought him the morning person, although…she was quite a morning person this morning. Wow, was it based on body? Who knew! _Argh, not the time to care, Darcy!_ She pushed Loki in front of the mirror and pulled her hair away from her eyes and then went and grabbed her glasses, putting them on her actual body’s face.

“Loki, some crazy shit has happened!” Darcy said, her voice sounding weird as his voice. She would never have imagined Loki speaking like this.

Darcy watched his―her?―eyebrows shoot up before her lips turned down in that musing way as he turned her head from side to side. Oh, the pronouns were confusing. She was just going to use male ones even if he was currently female. Loki reached up and brushed back her hair with his fingers before tugging at the now rather embarrassing bunny pajamas. He turned this way and that as if appraising his new body and Darcy glared at him.

“Stop that, you perv!” Darcy growled out.

“Or, what, you will attack me with my own magic?” Loki asked.

“Stop being stupid, I just about got some clothes on, you weirdo,” Darcy said.

“Probably just as well. You would not wish to be electrocuted, hm?” Loki asked.

“Please tell me you can’t use magic in my body?” Darcy asked.

Loki raised his hand and purple sparks flew out of it. “Somewhat. It will take some practice…your body has never learnt how to use its natural gift,” Loki said.

“What?” Darcy asked. It was still strange to hear her voice, harder than usual and more serious, stranger still, a slight British twang. All her voice, though.

“You are a magical being, Darcy Lewis. Even humans can be born with a gift, but they do not have the knowledge or consciousness of magic to wield it properly, or at all. So it only manifests as an ability to see through lies, little bits of magic, the ability to have some intuition or the ability to see the paranormal…among other little things. Humans know nothing of magic; it was long forgotten. Long gone are the days of Merlin when humans knew magic and wielded it,” Loki said.

Darcy stood there staring at him, wondering what on Earth was going on. Her? Magic? Impossible, but…he was a powerful magical being and surely he would know about this kind of stuff.

“How…does it work? I mean, is it a physical or spiritual aspect? Magic, I mean. I thought me using a little magic was because it was physical…” Darcy said.

“Both. My spirit inside your untrained body will have difficulty with magic for the time being, it would be like…any of your mortal activities where you have to rely on something else. Hmm. I suppose driving? You can drive a car, but learning to drive a bigger vehicle or a plane is difficult because it is a different platform,” Loki explained.

Darcy nodded. “Okay, whereas…my spirit doesn’t know how and your body knows how, so it’ll be a jumble,” Darcy said.

“Exactly, but you should be able to use it by simply imagining the outcome very carefully…it’ll take a little more time, though,” Loki said.

“How is this possible? How has this happened?” Darcy asked.

Seeing something akin to his grin on her own features was terrifying. “I could only tell you that if you promised not to speak of it,” Loki said.

“Oh God I don’t think I’m ready for this,” Darcy said, stumbling over to her bed and collapsing onto it.

 


	5. Having some fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki decides to use his new situation to his advantage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So sorry for the late update, been rather busy and whatnot, but here you go! Bit shorter than usual, but hopefully better than nothing.
> 
> Just a note to say that the purple gem has been changed to the yellow gem; I know the films are changing it up a bit (so space gem is blue and the mind gem is too) but depending on what I do for the gems in my fics, they’ll stay as close to the comic ones, colour-wise. Sorry for the mix up! I don’t think I planned very well when I wrote the gem as purple.
> 
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos!

Loki watched as the mortal dropped her face into her hands…or, really, his face into his hands. Oh, he hadn’t switched bodies in quite some time and he found he rather missed it. He loathed the fact that he was here on punishment, but this was brilliant. Especially because Darcy Lewis was quite a pretty little thing, even if her bossy attitude was not. Loki stood with his arms crossed over her generous bosom and looked at her. If she were not one of the ones who had decided to make his life here hell, he might have been inclined to flirt with her and even attempt to get her into bed, but no.

He doubted very much she would wish to anyway, so he put those thoughts aside.

“Are you done crying about our predicament?” Loki asked.

Darcy looked up at him with a glare. “I’m not crying, asshole. I’m just freaked out. How are you so calm?!” Darcy asked.

He shrugged. “This is not the first switch I have experienced, and usually it is of my own doing,” Loki said. “This, however, is the doing of that yellow object we found yesterday.”

“I knew it! I knew you knew what it was…I had a feeling something wasn’t right when you told Fury you didn’t know what it was,” Darcy said.

“What are you going to do about it?” Loki asked. “For one, I am not sure your friends will believe you if you tell them we have been switched…”

“Don’t you think I know that? What was that yellow thing? Just tell me,” Darcy said. “I will so be needing alcohol after this.”

“An Infinity stone. The Reality Gem; it tampers with reality and, apparently, decided to change ours,” Loki said.

“Can you switch us back?” Darcy asked.

“Not without the yellow gem, and I doubt I will be let near that…nor you, really,” Loki smirked.

He watched her lay back on the bed with a sigh and it amused him that she was so worked up. Loki turned and casually stepped over to her wardrobe, looking through it before realising that she really wasn’t much of a girly-girl. Trousers, those thick jumper things…how tedious. He closed the doors and walked to her drawers instead, opening them and taking out a pair of black lacy underwear. He smirked; this was more like it.

“HEY!” Darcy yelled indignantly. He felt her turn him around and she yanked the lacy garment out of his hands. “That is not your drawer to search through; get your own!”

“I do believe this is my own right now,” Loki said, grinning like a shark as he watched her getting angrier and angrier. Oh, she was quite beautiful when she was angry.

“Don’t be a smartass,” Darcy said.

Loki was about to reply when there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” Loki called out.

Before Darcy had the chance to think about the situation she was in, Thor came inside and was babbling on about something when he saw what was in Darcy’s hand. Since Darcy currently looked like him, it was a rather amusing situation. Thor’s eyes narrowed and he grabbed Darcy by the front of his armour.

“Loki! What is the meaning of this? You do not invade a lady’s privacy! Hand it back to Lady Darcy and remove yourself from this room right now, or so help me I will make you,” Thor all but growled. Clearly just about anything Loki did right now would bring out ire in Thor; too bad he wasn’t himself right now. Loki crossed his arms, making sure to look annoyed at Darcy.

“Thor, I—” Darcy started.

“There will be no arguments! Get out!” Thor roared.

Darcy turned to look at him briefly with a glare before dropping the lacy lingerie and storming out of the room. Oh, he couldn’t quite remember a more fun time he’d had with body swapping; this was just too damn fun. Loki gave Thor a relieved and grateful smile, ever so eager to play the part. “Thank you, Thor. He just snuck in here and I knew he was up to no good…I’m going to have to get a lock for my door,” Loki said.

“Fear not, Lady Darcy, I will make sure he does not trouble you again,” Thor said with a kind smile before patting her shoulder and leaving the room.

Let the fun begin.

 

* * *

 

Loki walked into Darcy’s office a little later to see that she was already sat there waiting. As soon as he shut the door, she was on him, pinning him against the wall. It was quite strange not having such strength himself and instead, he was ‘at the mercy’ of Darcy. She looked rather annoyed with him, but it didn’t stop him from smirking at her. In the very little time that he had been here, he had picked up on a lot and he could quite easily and quite happily use it to his advantage.

“You—” Darcy hissed. Oh, she was starting to get into character; she made a rather convincing him.

“—are being watched by that infernal Jarvis,” Loki whispered back.

Of course, he was quite sure he only needed to utter one word to bring her trembling to her knees, but where was the fun in that? She didn’t quite tremble, but he could tell she realised her mistake. She let him go and stormed over to the couch to sit down.

“Miss. Lewis, shall I inform Thor?” Jarvis asked.

Loki stared at Darcy for a moment and the look she gave him…it was simply delicious. A slight worry mixed with a stubborn determination and unwillingness to show him weakness, to show him that he had her. He wouldn’t admit it to her, but he admired her spark and it reminded him a little of himself. “No, Jarvis…it’s okay. I can’t help that I’m hot and he wants me,” Loki said, casually. He had been around her and mortals enough to be able to put forward some semblance of their speech patterns.

He had to stop the grin that threatened to form at the sight of Darcy’s glare.

“Jarvis, I would like some privacy…can you turn off the audio and visual on this office please?” Loki asked.

“Yes, Miss. Lewis,” Jarvis said, and there was a small noise to confirm his departure.

Darcy immediately stormed over to his desk and slammed her hands onto the surface. Unfortunately for Darcy, she wasn’t used to her new-found strength and the legs collapsed instantly, sending her not-so-gracefully to the floor along with everything that was on her desk. Loki sat there and cocked his head, sat on her desk chair quite enjoying the show.

“Are you quite finished?” Loki asked in amusement. “Not that it is not quite good fun to watch, but I doubt it is quite as much fun for you as it is for me.”

Darcy scrambled to her feet and breathed a few relaxing breaths before levelling a glare at him. “This is so not funny; I could get into serious trouble and all because of you!” Darcy said.

“How tragic,” Loki said.

She made a noise of frustration and looked like she deeply wanted to throw something at him. “We need to make this right; I want my body back,” Darcy said.

“Too bad; I am rather enjoying myself,” Loki said.

“Of course you are, I mean, people don’t fear me or are suspicious of me,” Darcy said.

“For now, we will have to just make do with our small mercies,” Loki grinned. He could do anything right now; perhaps even commit a crime after procuring the gem and landing her in deep trouble. He didn’t imagine she would much like that and it would serve her right for the way she has treated him.

Some agent or other popped their head around the door and told them they were needed. Thus the rest of the working day was spent assisting the Avengers in the last finishing touches to the city. Loki decided to be kind to Darcy once again and ordered her to not use magic today in his helping; she grumbled much like he would and yet he knew she was relieved for the excuse as to why ‘Loki’ wasn’t using magic. For once, he got to do only minimal of tasks that ‘Darcy’ was able to do, since she was an ordinary human.

Afterwards, he was forced to attend a casual meeting with the Avengers and sat in the Penthouse lounge with Darcy, who was playing her part surprisingly well; looking like she didn’t want to be there. He, however, had to pretend he did. Loki watched as Thor sat down next to Darcy and started talking with ‘him’ animatedly, as if things were fine between them again. To his horror, she seemed to forget who she was and talked back with no trouble at all.

He spoke mainly to Jane Foster and Tony Stark, the first of whom was his host body’s friend and the second…well, apparently they were budding friends. Loki found himself so engrossed in conversation with the pair of them (in a fashion; he had to either respond with a nod or noise, or pretend like he had ‘researched some science’) that it didn’t even cross his mind to sabotage her friendships. It actually felt good to have an intellectual conversation and learn about Midgard’s science. At least, the recent developments.

Stark wandered off to talk with someone else and he glanced over to see Thor and his body ever so jovial with Thor’s arm around him and drinks in hand. Loki managed to keep down a grimace; just what did she think she was doing, becoming all friendly with Thor? Did she not know how much he did not want to let him in again?

Before he could do something to avenge himself, Jane Foster had given him a quick hug and goodbye before walking over to Thor and leading him out. Loki looked back over to Darcy before standing up himself and leaving the room. He had no further wish to see himself be humiliated any further. He would have to work hard to brush off how friendly he was this evening.

Loki returned to Darcy’s room and took a book out of her bookshelf, settling down for the night with it.

 

* * *

 

He and Darcy had the next two days off since they had worked a weekend and he knew she would be glad for a break. Loki wasn’t exactly against it himself; it gave him the opportunity to leave the tower without suspicion and do whatever he wanted to. So he did. It was the first time he had been out of the tower, alone, and he was going to relish in it. No one stopped him, no one got suspicious…if anything, people were quite friendly with him. For a low-level employee of S.H.I.E.L.D., Darcy Lewis sure was liked. He supposed she was a pretty thing, but he wasn’t inclined to like her, given how humiliating his situation with her was.

Oh.

Loki stopped in the middle of the pavement, causing a few other pedestrians to swear at him angrily. He didn’t care; all that mattered was that he’d had a great idea and that involved getting himself out of this predicament. Why not just request to be removed from Darcy’s service? Surely there would be another…

Damn.

For a few short moments he had forgotten how it had been chosen by the powers beyond the known realms that he would have to serve Darcy Lewis. Why in the name of Yggdrasil had it chosen her? Loki ran a hand through his hair and turned around, walking back towards the tower. There was no point in carrying on out into the streets because there was simply no point. Somehow he was losing interest in this body switch and he needed to find out where they were keeping the gem.

Loki stepped back into the tower and rode the elevator to his floor, walked over to his room and saw his body currently naked in the middle of the room. He shut the door and raised an eyebrow as Darcy yelped and preceded to cover herself with her arms as if she were still female.

“Couldn’t you just knock?” Darcy asked.

“You do realise I have seen myself naked before and it is thusly pointless to cover yourself? If I knew you were so into peering at what you are not permitted to view, I would have feasted my eyes on your body by now,” Loki said.

“Don’t you dare! This is so not what it looks like; I was trying to poof from pajamas to something normal rather than your leather get up and ended up like this!” Darcy said. “Believe me, I have no wish to see anymore of you than I’ve had to.”

Loki shook his head and did his best to hide the sting from her words. “Just imagine the clothes and push them into existence,” Loki said.

He watched the clothes shimmer into place; a simple shirt and black trousers. At least it was something of Midgard that he would wear. Loki realised something as he watched her looking into the mirror at herself to see how well it fit.

Darcy (in his body) had the black cuffs on her.

He did not.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki's a bit of a git. I had fun with this, even if writing muse is kinda slow at the moment.


	6. Stopping mischief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki isn't the only one who's realised that he doesn't have the black cuffs to stop him anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope you're having a nice day!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments, they make me happy. <3

Darcy couldn’t figure out how to use Loki’s magic to clean herself and resigned herself to the fact that she would have to take a shower the human way. It wasn’t that he was ugly to look at; quite the opposite, he was hot and had one hell of a rocking body, but it was attached to a bad personality. She locked the bathroom door (even though her apartment was locked already…old habits die hard) and she took off her shirt, placing it on top of the storage basket she had. It was then that something caught her eye. She held up her wrists and looked at the two black cuffs. The ones that would stop Loki hurting anyone, lest he be electrocuted.

Shit.

She put her shirt back on and left her apartment; she needed to worry less about being clean and more about getting her body back. She had to go and find Thor. First she checked Thor and Jane’s apartment, but nothing. Darcy decided to go to the nearest Jarvis console.

"Jarvis, do you know where Thor is?" She asked.

"He is in the penthouse lounge with Mr. Stark and the other Avengers," Jarvis answered, polite as ever.

"Thanks, Jarvis," Darcy said before racing down the corridor and into the elevator after pushing the button.

When Darcy finally arrived in the lounge, she walked straight up to Thor. As always when Barton and Loki ended up in the same room, he tensed up a little. Of course, the others were still pretty wary—except for Tony who didn’t phase easily.

"Brother! You have decided to join us; that is marvellous," Thor said jovially.

"Thor, we need to talk—privately, if possible," Darcy said.

"Of course," Thor said, following her into another room. "What is it, brother?"

"This is going to sound odd…and you might not believe me…" Darcy started. "I’m not Loki, I’m Darcy…we’ve been body swapped."

Thor’s eyes narrowed and he leant in closer to her, staring into her eyes. "I am willing to listen; Loki has done this before, but I must be sure that it is not a trick," Thor said.

"Of course, of course…um, how do you wanna do that?" Darcy asked.

Thor held out his arm and Mjölnir flew into his hand. Rather than smashing through walls, though, Thor seemed to have mastered the art of making sure it caused no damage as it flew. Darcy stepped back, really hoping it didn’t involve a hammer to her gut. Instead, he held it up and whispered something to it before dropping it to the floor.

"I have given Mjölnir a small command; if you are really Darcy, then you will be able to budge it," Thor said.

Darcy’s eyes widened and she also sighed in relief; she’d been worried that it would be difficult to convince Thor, but since Loki wasn’t new to body swapping, it made sense that Thor had come up with the means to prevent such misunderstandings. It almost seemed too easy, but she wasn’t going to complain. The sooner she got her body back, the better. Darcy took a deep breath and reached for Mjölnir, wrapping her fingers around the handle.

Her attempt to lift it only ended in her budging it ever so slightly towards her, but it didn’t move any further.

Thank God.

"When did this happen, Darcy?" Thor asked. "Did Loki manage this?"

"About two days ago we woke up in each other’s bodies. Loki said it was this yellow gem we found three days ago and he can’t reverse the effects. Seriously, Thor, please…we need to convince Fury that we need to take a look at the gem for a moment…right now, Loki doesn’t have his cuffs on and he’s able to use some magic in my body…" Darcy explained.

Thor picked up his hammer again and looked serious. "Then we will find my brother and then speak with Director Fury," Thor said.

Darcy followed Thor through the corridors and waited while Thor knocked on the door. Loki opened the door.

"Oh, hi Thor," he said.

"I know it is you, Loki. Come, we will sort this mess out," Thor said.

"Oh? And why should I comply?" Loki asked.

Darcy thought real hard, closed her eyes and opened them, before jabbing her hands in the direction of Loki. He fell to the floor in a heap.

"Thank God that worked," Darcy said. "He’s just sleeping."

"Even better," Thor said.

"I’ll grab…him," Darcy said.

She picked up her body; it was such a strange feeling, the ability to pick someone up so easily and the fact that it was her own body. If there was one thing she would miss about being in Loki’s body, it was having the strength to lift a truck and not even be strained in doing so. Okay, so she hadn’t actually done that but she’d seen him pick up a truck before…and while he wasn’t as buff as Thor, he was still pretty damn strong.

"Is Fury even in the tower right now?" Darcy asked.

"I am afraid he is out, however I can make a call," Jarvis answered.

"Please do, friend Jarvis, for we have a matter of urgency," Thor said.

It took a few minutes for Jarvis to reply, but they apparently had to wait a little while, so they returned to the lounge. They might as well wait where there was ample alcohol available. Darcy put Loki down on the sofa before sitting down on the one opposite while Thor dropped his hammer on the floor and walked over to the bar.

"A sex on the beach, please," Darcy said, relaxing against the back of the sofa.

"Uh, I do not think that appropriate, Darcy. For one, I am courting Jane and two, you are in my brother’s body. I need say no more," Thor said.

Darcy laughed and shook her head. "Sorry, I forgot, Sex on the beach is the name of a cocktail. An alcoholic beverage…I’ll make it," Darcy said, standing back up and joining him behind the bar.

"Oh, yes, Jane has mentioned cocktails. We have those on Asgard, though not quite as common or as popular, so they are lacking a creative collective name," Thor said. "The drinks themselves are, however, quite something. The Bifrost Breaker, for example."

Darcy chuckled. "Really? Wow. I don’t suppose you could make one?" She asked.

"Nay, most of the ingredients are of Asgard, but I will be sure to bring some back for you the next time I take a trip to Asgard," Thor said.

"Alright, get going," Darcy said.

They laughed and Darcy made them both a sex on the beach. It was pretty damn good, if she did say so herself. She also found Thor drinking a pink and orange cocktail as if it was the manliest thing in the world pretty damn special. Jane had a keeper.

"Fancy a game of quick questions? We ask each other questions alternatively and the other has to answer as quickly as possible and with just one word…if they don’t, they drink a shot," Darcy said.

"I’ll load up some shots," Darcy said, finding as many shot glasses as she could, got some drink and returned to her seat before pouring them all.

"Ladies first," Thor said with a grin.

"Ever kissed a guy?" Darcy asked.

"Yes. Chocolate or cocktails?" Thor asked.

"Chocolate. If you could be any other Avenger, who would you be?" Darcy asked.

"Stark. Beer or tequila?" Thor asked.

"Beer. Cats or dogs?" Darcy asked.

"Dogs. Ipod or taser?" Thor asked with a grin.

"Ipod. Have you and Janey had sex yet?" Darcy asked.

Slight hesitation. "Yes," Thor answered.

"Drink up!" Darcy said, laughing madly. "You two are just too adorable."

They were interrupted by a feminine groaning and Darcy looked to the left to see that Loki was waking up. He sat up and blinked slowly at them.

"How dare you—" Loki started.

"Oh, shut up, it was easier than trying to drag you up here, that and attempt to get away. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve got no cuffs," Darcy said.

Loki smirked. "What are you going to do about it? You would not want to harm your own body, hm?" Loki said.

Darcy stood up and grabbed Loki’s wrists, though he started struggling to the point where they were practically wrestling and she was sat on him. "We really need Fury right now. Or some agent who can get us that goddamn gem," Darcy growled.

"Whoa, what the hell am I walking in on here?" Tony asked.

Darcy looked up and boy did the man look confused and maybe a little weirded out.

"Thor…you’re either watching your brother attack Darcy or get it on with her…I don’t know which is worse," Tony said.

"Relax, Tony, there is a…an explanation, perhaps not reasonable by any standards, for this," Thor explained. "Loki and Darcy have experienced a body swap…and Loki is thusly no longer bound by the restraints of the black cuffs. I do not think it wise for me to be the one to pin Loki down. I would not wish to injure Darcy’s body."

Tony didn’t reply, he just blinked and walked straight over to his bar, pouring himself a whiskey and downing it in one. Rinse and repeat a few times. He walked over with two glasses and stood next to Loki’s head.

"Budge over, Reindeer Games," Tony said.

Darcy reluctantly moved off of Loki and sat down next to Thor while Loki sat up looking at Tony suspiciously. Tony handed him a glass of whiskey before sitting down next to him and they both downed the drink.

"Too bad I have to get up to refill the damn thing; should have brought the bottle," Tony said.

"Oh, let me try…" Darcy said.

She lifted both hands and jabbed her index fingers towards the glass. Unfortunately water erupted out of it like a broken drinking fountain. It splashed both Tony and Loki, the latter’s expression was of both boredom and annoyance. Tony directed the glass at Thor, who spluttered. Darcy couldn’t help but laugh. It stopped at a wave of Loki’s hand, which she was glad for because she didn’t think she could reverse it.

"So, you can use a bit of Loki’s magic?" Tony asked.

"Not all that well," Loki interjected.

"Hey, I sent you to sleep, that’s all that matters. I can try it again if you like," Darcy said.

Loki rolled his eyes and Darcy laughed.

"Now that there’s four of us, we can play more drinking games…truth or dare, never ever…" Darcy started, but she was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing.

"Loki, pass it," Darcy said, taking the phone after he offered it to her. "Wait…damn I can’t answer it, Tony answer it for me."

Tony took the phone. "Darcy Lewis’ phone, Tony speaking," he answered. He looked at her and mouthed that it was her mom. Goddammit. "She’s taking a nap; work’s been stressful, I can’t blame the kid. Me? I’m Tony Stark…"

Darcy could tell that her mom was being embarrassing from the higher tone coming through the receiver. She didn’t blame her, though, her mom was as just a big fanatic for things as she was.

"We’re looking after her, Mrs. Lewis, but we’ve all had a busy few weeks. Yeah, she’s safe. New York’s practically as good as new, save the half a dozen new shrink offices that’ve popped up…Darcy was in Norway when the attack happened, I assure you…no, she wasn’t trying to make you feel better, this is legit what happened. Okay, yeah, definitely. Tell Darcy some dates and I’m sure I can work something out. Okay, take care, bye now," Tony said, pressing the end button.

She just stared at him. "What the hell?" Darcy asked.

"I’ve been invited over for dinner sometime; sounds like your mom has excellent taste in music," Tony said.

"Duh, where do you think I get it? They still need to make an iPod with one terrabite of memory because I have a hell of a lot of music to fit on them…" Darcy said. "Get her a signed anything from AC/DC, Aerosmith or the Rolling Stones and you’ve got a fan for life. I wouldn’t be shy to them either, of course."

Tony laughed. "Now I definitely know you’re not Loki," Tony said.

"Sir, Fury is on the line," Jarvis said.

"Patch him through, Jarvis," Tony said, answering his phone. "Fury oh Fury, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What is it exactly that Thor needs of me?" Fury asked.

Tony turned the phone around and pointed it at Thor. "Go ahead, big guy. You might want to explain this," Tony said.

And so Thor did, explaining every detail and she could tell Loki was less than thrilled; his playtime was hopefully going to be over soon. She really hoped that Fury believed them and would allow them to attempt to fix this problem; she didn’t fancy being stuck as Loki for the rest of her life.

"I will allow it, however, I want to know exactly what this gem is…I get the feeling that Loki wasn’t being all that truthful with me," Fury said.

"Okidoke, Papa Fury," Darcy joked.

Fury grimaced. "Please, do not do that again," Fury said.

Tony snickered and Thor was grinning. Fury hung up and it was only about fifteen minutes later when Fury came in, complete with his usual intimidating aura, and placed a briefcase thing on the coffee table. He opened it and the glowing yellow gem sat there.

Darcy looked at Loki, who was also looking at her, before they both reached out and touched the gem. They both shuddered and Darcy blinked. She saw Loki’s body opposite to her, which meant…

YES!

She wrapped her arms around herself and leant back on the sofa. This was so much better. No more awkward changing, toileting…she could be herself again.

"Thanks, Fury, man, you saved my life. Like, literally. Darcy is a free elf," Darcy said.

"What exactly is this thing?" Fury asked Loki.

"The Reality Gem. One of six Infinity Gems, or Stones, much like the Tesseract," Loki explained. "I would advise you to allow Thor to return it to Asgard."

"That is a good point, Director Fury; I think it not wise to keep such things here on Midgard," Thor said.

"I suppose you are correct," Fury said. "I will keep it until you make a decision on just when to take it back to Asgard."

"Thank you, Director Fury," Thor said with a nod.

The Director left and Darcy smiled around at everyone. She could tell that Loki was a little miffed by the spoiling of his fun, but ultimately not too upset at being back in his own body. At least now she could visit home, take Tony and not have to come up with all kinds of excuses to delay visiting her parents.

"Shall we carry on our game?" Thor asked.

"Perhaps another time? I need to go and dry off," Darcy said, reminded just now by a sudden chill.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd yeah, end of that. Apologies if the body swap ended too soon, the realisation of the cuffs kinda called for the end. 
> 
> If anyone ever has any prompts for this story, you're free to share.


End file.
